SEOUL: South Korea’s health care sector is breaking physical barriers with the rise of the metaverse and its core technologies – virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI).
As the Covid-19 pandemic has limited most offline interactions for the past two years, metaverse technologies that ultimately envision a shared virtual space where people can interact with each other and carry out life-like activities and tasks have been brought to the fore.
Unlike the traditional healthcare sector that requires physical contact or human-to-human exchanges, healthcare startups inspired by cutting-edge technologies are expanding areas of diagnosis.
Local startup Looxid Labs has developed Lucy, a medical assessment and training system that uses AI and VR technologies to detect early signs of cognitive impairment, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
The company, since October, has been operating a mobile diagnostic centre called Lucy Bus that can visit the elderly to test their cognitive abilities.
Using a VR sensory headset to play immersive cognitive games, the headset can measure their working memory, attention level and spatial perception by reviewing their behavioural and neurophysiological responses such as brain waves.
The VR sensory headset also offers a training mode that can help prevent cognitive impairment for the elderly.
“Lucy is mainly used for people aged 50 or older. Lucy Bus offers visiting services for the elderly who reside in the countryside and have little access to public transportation,” a Looxid Labs official said.
According to the official, the Lucy headsets are used in 46 places in Seoul and Busan –most of them local dementia centers and senior welfare centers.
In January, Lucy was honoured with the Innovation Award in Health and Wellness at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Metaverse technologies are also being used for training medical workers.
Newbase, a company specialising in the development of medical metaverse simulation platforms, has come up with programmes to offer training opportunities that feel more real for those who want to work in the medical field. — The Korea Herald/ANN